Your investigative skills have cracked cases and provided crucial insights.
A Detective’s CV should reflect your analytical acumen and law enforcement experience.
Our guide, with a Detective CV example, will help you piece together a profile that’s as compelling as the mysteries you solve.
|
Detective CV example
This is a good example of a Detective CV which is professionally formatted, and structured in a way that allows recruiters to easily find and understand the candidate’s key selling points.
Take some time to look at this CV and refer to it throughout the writing of your own CV for best results.
Detective CV format and structure
First impressions count, so a sloppy, disorganised CV may cause your CV to be overlooked..
Instead, perfect the format and structure of your CV by working to a clear logical structure and applying some simple formatting tricks to ease readability.
Don’t underestimate the importance of this step; if your CV lacks readability, your written content won’t even be seen.
Tips for formatting your Detective CV
- Length: Recruiters will be immediately put off by lengthy CVs – with hundreds of applications to read through, they simply don’t have the time! Grabbing their attention with a short, snappy and highly relevant CV is far more likely to lead to success. Aim for two sides of A4 or less.
- Readability: To help recruiters quickly skim through your CV, it’s important to format your section headings with bold or a different colour font and break up lengthy paragraphs into short sharp bullet points. This enables them to easily identify important information and assess your suitability.
- Design & format: While it’s okay to add your own spin to your CV, avoid overdoing the design. If you go for something elaborate, you might end up frustrating recruiters who, above anything, value simplicity and clarity.
- Photos: You can add a profile photo to your CV, if you want to add some personality to it, but they are not a requirement the UK, so you don’t have to.
Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
When writing your CV, break up the content into the following key sections, to ensure it can be easily digested by busy recruiters and hiring managers:
- Contact details – Always list these at the very top of your CV – you don’t want them to be missed!
- Profile – An introductory paragraph, intended to grab recruiters attention and summarise your offering.
- Work experience / career history – Working from your current role and working backwards, list your relevant work experience.
- Education – Create a snappy summary of your education and qualifications.
- Interest and hobbies – An optional section to document any hobbies that demonstrate transferable skills.
Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.
Contact Details
Tuck your contact details into the corner of your CV, so that they don’t take up too much space.
Stick to the basic details, such as:
- Mobile number
- Email address – It should sound professional, such as your full name.
- Location -Just write your rough location, rather than your full address.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – If you include these, ensure they’re sleek, professional and up-to-date.
Detective CV Profile
Make a strong first impression with recruiters by starting your CV with an impactful profile (or personal statement for junior applicants).
This short introduction paragraph should summarise your skills, experience, and knowledge, highlighting your suitability for the job.
It should be compelling enough to encourage recruiters to read through the rest of your CV.
How to write a good CV profile:
- Make it short and sharp: Recruiters are busy, so to ensure your profile is actually read, it’s best to keep it short and snappy. 3-5 punchy lines makes for the perfect profile.
- Tailor it: The biggest CV mistake? A generic, mass-produced document which is sent out to tens of employers. If you want to land an interview, you need to tailor your CV profile (and your application as a whole) to the specific roles you’re applying for. So, before you start writing, remember to read over those job descriptions and make a list of the skills, knowledge and experience the employers are looking for.
- Don’t add an objective: Avoid discussing your career goals in your CV profile – if you think they’re necessary, briefly mention them in your cover letter instead.
- Avoid generic phrases: Cheesy clichès and generic phrases won’t impress recruiters, who read the same statements several times per day. Impress them with your skill-set, experience and accomplishments instead!
Example CV profile for Detective
What to include in your Detective CV profile?
- Experience overview: Recruiters will want to know what type of companies you’ve worked for, industries you have knowledge of, and the type of work you’ve carried out in the past, so give them a summary of this in your profile.
- Targeted skills: Make your most relevant Detective key skills clear in your profile. These should be tailored to the specific role you’re applying for – so make sure to check the job description first, and aim to match their requirements as closely as you can.
- Important qualifications: If the jobs you are applying to require candidates to have certain qualifications, then you must add them in your profile to ensure they are seen by hiring managers.
Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
Add a core skills section below your profile to draw attention to your most applicable skills and make them stand out to readers.
This should consist of 2-3 columns of bullet points that emphasise your relevant skills.
Before creating this section, review the job description and compile a list of any specific skills, specializations, or knowledge needed. Incorporate these findings into your list to portray yourself as the ideal candidate for the position.
Important skills for your Detective CV
Criminal Law Expertise – In-depth knowledge of UK criminal law to interpret and apply legal principles during investigations.
Forensic Analysis – Proficient in forensic techniques and evidence analysis to gather critical information for solving criminal cases.
Surveillance Techniques – Mastery of surveillance methods and technologies to discreetly monitor individuals and gather intelligence.
Interrogation and Interviewing – Advanced ability in conducting effective interviews and interrogations to extract information and build case evidence.
Crime Scene Management – Ability to manage and secure crime scenes, ensuring the preservation of evidence and adherence to legal protocols.
Risk Assessment – Aptitude in evaluating potential risks and threats associated with criminal investigations, prioritising safety measures accordingly.
Critical Thinking – Strong analytical and critical thinking abilities to assess complex situations, identify patterns, and make informed decisions.
Legal Documentation – Adeptness in preparing accurate and thorough legal documents, including search warrants and arrest reports.
Covert Operations – Experience in planning and executing covert operations to gather intelligence and uncover criminal activities discreetly.
Interagency Collaboration – Effective collaboration with various law enforcement agencies and professionals to share information and coordinate efforts in solving complex cases.
Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.
Work experience
By this point, employers will be keen to know more detail about you career history.
Starting with your most recent role and working backwards, create a snappy list of any relevant roles you’ve held.
This could be freelance, voluntary, part-time or temporary jobs too. Anything that’s relevant to your target role is well-worth listing!
Structuring each job
Your work experience section will be long, so it’s important to structure it in a way which helps recruiters to quickly and easily find the information they need.
Use the 3-step structure, shown in the below example, below to achieve this.
Outline
Firstly, give the reader some context by creating a punchy summary of the job as a whole.
You should mention what the purpose or goal of your role was, what team you were part of and who you reported to.
Key responsibilities
Follow with a snappy list of bullet points, detailing your daily duties and responsibilities.
Tailor it to the role you’re applying for by mentioning how you put the target employer’s desired hard skills and knowledge to use in this role.
Key achievements
Finish off by showcasing 1-3 key achievements made within the role.
This could be anything that had a positive effect on your company, clients or customers, such as saving time or money, receiving exemplary feedback or receiving an award.
Sample job description for Detective CV
Outline
Worked for the special unit at the West Midlands Police specialising in criminal investigations and intelligence gathering, ensuring the apprehension of suspects and presenting evidence in court.
Key Responsibilities
- Investigate complex cases related to serious and organised crime within the West Midlands region
- Collaborate with intelligence units to gather actionable information on criminal networks
- Conduct interviews with witnesses and obtain statements, ensuring accuracy and relevance
- Apply advanced surveillance techniques to monitor and gather intelligence, including Facial Recognition Technology, Parabolic Microphones and biometric systems
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
In your education section, make any degrees, qualifications or training which are relevant to Detective roles a focal point.
As well as mentioning the name of the organisation, qualification titles and dates of study, you should showcase any particularly relevant modules, assignments or projects.
Hobbies and interests
This section is entirely optional, so you’ll have to use your own judgement to figure out if it’s worth including.
If your hobbies and interests could make you appear more suitable for your dream job, then they are definitely worth adding.
Interests which are related to the industry, or hobbies like sports teams or volunteering, which display valuable transferable skills might be worth including.
Once you’ve written your Detective CV, you should proofread it several times to ensure that there are no typos or grammatical errors.
With a tailored punchy profile that showcases your relevant experience and skills, paired with well-structured role descriptions, you’ll be able to impress employers and land interviews.
Good luck with your next job application!